Iran and six major world powers have reached a nuclear deal after more than a decade of on-off negotiation, granting Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, Iranian diplomats said on Tuesday. The agreement aims to limit Iran's nuclear work for more than a decade in exchange for the gradual suspension of sanctions that have slashed Iran's oil exports and crippled its economy. "All the hard work has paid off and we sealed a deal. God bless our people," one diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. A second Iranian official confirmed the agreement. The foreign ministers of Iran and the six powers will meet at 0830 GMT (4.30 a.m. ET) at the United Nations center in Vienna and a news conference will follow, a spokeswoman for the European Union said on Tuesday. Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and E.U.'s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini are expected to read a joint statement, diplomats said. Under a draft version of the nuclear deal, sketched out in preliminary form on April 2, U.N. inspectors would have access to all suspect Iranian sites, including military ones, a diplomatic source said. The foreign ministers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States met for about an hour just after midnight as they struggled to complete the agreement, which has been under negotiation for more than 20 months.
